India captain Virat Kohli reclaims top spot in Test rankings after brilliant show in third match against England- Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Dubai: India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday reclaimed the top spot in the latest ICC Test Rankings after his brilliant show in the third Test against England.

Kohli scored 97 and 103 in the third Test at Nottingham, which India won by 203 runs.

The skipper first earned the pole position after his 149 and 51 in the first Test at Birmingham. However he dropped to second place after India’s defeat at the Lord’s but a stupendous performance has again put him at the top.

Virat Kohli celebrates after bringing up his 23rd Test ton. AP

Kohli now has 937 points, which is the 11th best ever in terms of rating points.

Cheteshwar Pujara remains the second highest ranked India batsman in the list in sixth position, while Ajinkya Rahane (up four places to 19th), Shikhar Dhawan (up four places to 22nd) and all-rounder Hardik Pandya (up eight places to 51st) have moved up after useful contributions at Trent Bridge.

Pandya has also reached the 51st spot in the bowlers’ rankings, gaining 23 slots to reach his career-best position after a crucial five-wicket haul in the first innings.

His fellow fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah’s five-wicket haul in England’s second innings has also lifted him to a career-best 37th position after a gain of eight places.

For England, Jos Buttler’s valiant 106 in the second innings has lifted him 22 places to 47th position.

Another significant gainer for England in the batsmen’s rankings is Adil Rashid, whose unbeaten 33 in the second innings has seen him gain eight slots to reach 116th position.

Rashid has also gained four slots to reach 47th position among bowlers after grabbing four wickets in the match, while Chris Woakes has inched up one place to 31st position after also finishing with four wickets in the third Test.